Joyce’s 100th birthday is heralded with bagpipes in Sheffield

Staff and residents celebrated the 100th birthday of Joyce Berber week with an afternoon tea party at Belmont House Nursing Home.

Celebrations also included a Scottish piper in full highland dress, who played in the garden for Joyce to enjoy through the window.

Although visits from family members are not possible in the current situation, she received many phone and video calls, cards and messages.

Joyce had a day opening presents and cards from her family and friends and especially enjoyed her card from Her Majesty the Queen.

“All of the staff team here at Belmont House would like to wish Joyce a very happy 100th Birthday,” said home manager Joanne Coldwell.

“Joyce has lived here at Belmont House for two years and is very much part of the Belmont family.”

Joyce was born in Hillsborough; she was one of five children and had two brothers and two sisters.

On leaving school her first job was at Bassett’s sweet factory in Sheffield.

When WWII broke out, she signed up as a land girl and worked with her grandfather on the farms.

She married in 1945 and had her wedding reception at grandparent’s house in Hillsborough.

Joyce went on to have two children, her eldest son Stuart and daughter Yvonne.

Joyce has always worked hard; she was a housewife for a few years when her children were small then worked as a cleaner at Malin Bridge School until she took retirement aged 62 to look after husband.

Her retirement lasted just one year before she was back working, this time as a waitress at a restaurant in Bridlington on the East Coast where she lived.

Joyce carried on working until she was 78 years old, when she became a carer for her husband’s best friend until 2007.

Joyce loved to travel and enjoyed annual trips to Spain, visiting friends there until she was 93 years old.

She is now a popular resident at Belmont House in Stocksbridge and hopes to celebrate many more birthdays at the home.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.